Forever
by She's a Star
Summary: Christian's reflections on his life and hopes for the future on his dying day...will he and Satine be reunited again?


Forever  
  
a fanfiction by She's a Star  
  
~*~  
  
  
Life.  
It had been a wonder, a tragedy, a blessing, a curse.  
All of those things to Christian.  
He'd traveled to so many places, met so many people, seen so many sights...his  
books had been read across the world, his name was one of fame.  
And yet it had been lonely. He had traveled the journey all by himself, not caring  
to love another. He'd met many attractive women, of course, but none of them were the  
same...their hair didn't sparkle the way Satine's had, their eyes didn't dance in amusement  
the way Satine's had...  
Even the most stunning girl he'd seen was only a mere shadow of Satine's beauty.  
He had helped that girl, he had saved her from the life Satine had been forced to  
live. He helped her become an actress, shown her that she was worth more than what a  
man would pay for her. It seemed the perfect opportunity for romance, but Christian had  
never been attracted to her. He had never fallen in love again. Ever since that night, that  
night so very long ago when he had lost Satine, he'd known that he would never fall. It  
was not a promise to himself to prevent another heartbreak, nor was it to honor Satine's  
memory. He just knew that he wouldn't. There was no one, no one, that could make him  
feel the way she had.  
The world had changed so much since that night.  
Now there were televisions, radios, all sorts of foolish new technology that  
Christian had never bothered to explore. Everything was different. He'd returned to the  
Moulin Rouge a few years before to find that it was no longer truly itself. There were  
elaborate, rehearsed dances and shows, and it projected a sense of order instead of the  
spontaneous air it used to carry.   
It had lost its sparkle without Satine.  
Life had lost its sparkle without Satine.  
All these thoughts flew around his mind one quiet night. He had lived so long,  
seen so many things, and finally, his time had come. He knew it as he lay in bed that  
night, thinking of all that had happened in his ninety years.  
Yes, he'd done extraordinary things, but all of them seemed dim, unimportant,  
next to finding Satine. That, he knew as his life danced before his eyes, was the reason he  
had lived. To find her. It was his purpose, his destiny.  
And soon...soon they would be together once again.  
Only this time, it was forever.  
Christian doubted that she would recognize him...his once black hair was now  
completely white, his skin was wrinkled, and his blue eyes that had lost their sparkle.  
But that had been gone for so long...ever since she had died.  
Exhaustion overpowering him, he drifted off to sleep, knowing that he would  
never awaken.  
  
~*~  
  
White.  
Blinding, brilliant white surrounded him everywhere. He squinted his eyes and  
looked around. Where was she? He needed her, she had to be here...  
But all he saw was white.  
"Satine," he said softly to himself, his tone full of despair. "Where are you? I'm  
supposed to be with you, where are you?"  
Suddenly, a new thought occurred to him...prostitution was a sin. A sin. What if  
she hadn't come to heaven at all? What if she...  
Overcome with grief, Christian shouted, "Why??? I can't be here without her!  
She's an angel, she can't be THERE, she has to be here! Take me to her, I can't live  
without her!"  
He closed his eyes...too much white, too much bloody white. He laughed shortly  
and held his head in his hands. It was ironic...he had been waiting for this day, slowly,  
patiently, for over fifty years, thinking so foolishly that they would be reunited again.   
"No," he murmured to himself. "No...I-"  
"Christian?"  
Bliss. Sheer bliss.  
Christian suddenly felt just as he had the first night he'd set eyes on her, even  
though he hadn't seen her yet. Just hearing her voice brought him back, made his heart  
leap and his pulse race and his spirits rise.  
"Satine!" he exclaimed happily, raising his head from his hands. And there, before  
him, was no longer white, but the dance hall of the Moulin Rouge. Men in top hats sat at  
the red-cushioned booths, grinning in awe, and the whores, many who had died years  
before of syphilis and consumption, were swishing their skirts and dancing energetically  
to the fast pace of the music as they had when he'd stepped into the club for the first time.  
Harold Zidler stood with the band, grinning merrily and shouting out different songs to  
play.  
Filled with happiness, Christian turned around.  
And there was Satine, dressed in the pink gown she'd worn on the night he'd first  
seen her.  
Her hair sparkled as the light danced through it, her lips were glossy and crimson,  
and her eyes...  
Her beautiful blue eyes were shining with tears of happiness as she looked at him.   
Christian felt so full of joy he was sure he was going to burst at any moment, and,  
smiling, he took Satine's hand with his own, which was no longer wrinkled but smooth.  
He knew that he was truly himself again, back what he had been when he had been with  
her.   
"I believe you were expecting me," he said teasingly. They were the first words  
she'd said to him.  
Satine wrapped her arms around him and kissed him softly.  
Perfect....after all those years, those lonely years, life was finally perfect again.   
As she pulled away, she whispered a single word.  
"Yes."  
  
  
  
THE END  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: Moulin Rouge belongs to Bazz Luhrmann 


End file.
